Hemet, CA Fence Regulations: Retaining Walls (2026)

Section 90-316 opens Chapter 90's wall, fencing, and screening standards with a purpose statement: regulating the location and height of walls, fences, screening, and landscaping to protect both the use of the property and the safety of people using adjacent sidewalks and streets. Retaining walls get their own rule inside that section, separate from the height limits that apply to ordinary fences and hedges elsewhere in section 90-316: paragraph (6) caps the combined height of a retaining wall plus any hedge, wall, or fence built on top of it at six feet where it runs along a street side yard or a reverse corner lot, and at nine feet where it runs along an interior or rear property line.

A retaining wall also isn't just a zoning height question. Chapter 67's grading ordinance separately defines it in section 67-2 as 'a structure designed to resist lateral displacement of any material,' and the same definition states plainly that retaining walls require a separate permit from the community development department's building division, on top of whatever grading permit the project needs under section 67-4. That building permit is where the city checks the structural engineering behind the wall, distinct from the zoning height limit that section 90-316(6) enforces.